As Prophet - Chapter 124



Only Krnovel

Episode 124. Then what, I have to catch it.

The time has come. It is because Mukhyeong brought his horse. There must have been no one there because it was night. He tied the reins to the horse in front and tied them again, and slowly pulled them. There were horses without saddles. This is because Geumwon is a horse stable, not a post station.

He ordered the soldiers to gather the horses. The soldiers ran out and pulled the horses by the reins on both sides of the road leading to the school building from the main road. There were quite a few who could not control their horses. With difficulty, he got the soldiers on the horses, and somehow there were about 150 horses. The number was irregular. Those who did not have horses were made to ride in pairs, and the wide yard in front of the school building was chaotic.

Dalcheon divided the army among his generals and gave them control, and the situation was finally calmed down. He was busy selecting those who could not ride horses and changing the riders.

Dalcheon, who was counting the number of horses, looked back. The general was standing at the end of the porch. He raised his left hand, which was holding the sword, and shouted.

“Let’s go to Hanyang!”

Those near the main hall briefly shouted, “Loyalty!”

* * *

It was night. The vanguard, consisting of three or five men, was sent far away. There were no soldiers to block the advance, and although the stragglers heading toward Hanyangseong were occasionally seen, they were pushed farther away from the road and there was no resistance.

Dalcheon asked them to train while they were going. He ordered them to change their two-row formation to three-row formation, then to five-row formation, and to get off at a roadside notice and set up a firing formation. He had them lower their armor in pairs and practiced putting their shields at shoulder distances.

Those who are not accustomed to cavalry fighting can only dismount and fight, completely unable to take advantage of the cavalry’s advantages.

When the same order comes down, it’s annoying. It’s just a rough approximation, but at least I know what to do in that situation.

When the three-way battle began and a wide space appeared, he had the central army practice spreading its wings to the left and right. When they grumbled about training when there was no time, he protested that the night was long.

The great general, who had stepped forward after much tension and great determination, complained on behalf of everyone.

“When on earth are you going to Hanyang?”

“When they are having the hardest time.”

“When was that?”

“For the troops who stayed up all night, um… … the time just before dawn will be the hardest.”

“So, are you saying we should do this all night?”

“If we’re going to do it, wouldn’t it be better to win?”

“Whew. It’s best if there’s no fighting.”

“For that purpose, it would be better if we could prepare well and make them afraid.”

“Anyway, you are no match for me in words.”

Dalcheon chuckled.

“It won’t work even with force. Ahaha.”

“What a person.”

Dalcheon stepped forward when he saw the vanguard running.

“There is a group of defeated soldiers gathered at the post station.”

“What number?”

“About 50 people.”

Dalcheon called Yoo Seok-do, who was in charge of the vanguard.

“Loyalty!”

“There are 50 enemy stragglers at the post station. Deal with them.”

“Loyalty!”

Yuseokdo stood on his horse and shouted to his small army.

“Fifty enemy soldiers at the post station! Deal with them immediately! Sortie!”

“Loyalty!”

The twenty or so cavalry led by Yu Seok-do ran. There was no need to fight. The men fled in all directions at the sound of horse hooves. Yu Seok-do looked for the footman at the post station.

“Who is the boss?”

One of the men standing shabbily raised his hand.

“I’m leaving.”

Yuseokdo got off his horse. As he approached the bastard, his feet tensed.

“Did they contact you back?”

“After having a meeting earlier, the two guys ran off.”

“You didn’t ride a horse?”

“I never gave it to you.”

“good job!”

“What’s going on?”

“They gathered the scoundrels of Hanyang and attacked them in order to assassinate the Grand Prince.”

“Ah! So that’s what these bad guys were whispering about.”

“I took care of everything.”

“You are amazing. You have been coming here for a few days now and making all sorts of demands. It is quite a sight. Even His Majesty the King does not do this. Give us a horse, send urgent money to Hanyang, etc. You treat us like errand boys.”

“So, did the news spread that they were defeated?”

I said it before, but I’m asking again. It’s my intention to determine the yes or no precisely.

“Wouldn’t it have gotten through somehow? Those guys were going back and forth.”

Yoo Seok-do applied strong pressure.

“I guess you could say that you helped me.”

“No. I did not respond uncompromisingly.”

“It couldn’t have been easy.”

“He pulled out a knife and threatened me… … .”

“Be honest. Did the information about the defeat get out?”

“They still don’t know they’ve lost. They’re the ones who ran away in the first game.”

“What is the first game?”

“They say they fought with a hundred cavalrymen on the road. They are the ones who ran away at that time.”

“Have you heard the news about the second game?”

“No. They were waiting for us. They were waiting here to join us when they heard the news. They were cowards.”

Yuseokdo couldn’t be sure. He had to go to work after hearing the news of defeat. It might not be easy to get over Heunginjimun.

When I went to the headquarters and reported the situation, Dalcheon smiled again.

“If that was the news, would you have gone or not?”

“There is a distance… … .”

“I hope you are not unprepared. The vanguard must hurry.”

“Can I skip training?”

“Of course. If we catch those two guys who brought the news, they’ll say something.”

“We’ll chase after you. We’ve been delayed too long.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay to delay a little longer. It’s just a matter of whether you can get through it easily or not. Don’t look at the battlefield as an absolute, helpless situation. Those who say they’ll die if they don’t do this are the ones who ruin things. It’s important to have a broad perspective and not miss out on other possibilities.”

“It feels like I’m taking a class at the school.”

“This is class. It’s part of the training. Ahaha! Go. It’s a long way. No matter how fast they hurry, we’ll catch up.”

“Loyalty!”

Yuseokdo turned his horse’s head and rode west.

* * *

The general who was walking alongside Dalcheon asked.

“Can I catch it?”

“I think people think of me as a fortune teller these days.”

“I think you do that too.”

“Oh my god.”

Dalcheon shakes his head from side to side, and his horse shakes its head as well.

“They look alike.”

“Ugh.”

“… … .”

“What else do you want to know?”

“What I’m most curious about today is whether I’ll succeed. Whether I’ll live or die.”

“Empty your mind. It ends tonight.”

“I just asked because I was curious about something.”

“I don’t think you’re telling me to commit the foolish act of leaking the secrets of the weather.”

The word Cheon-gi came to mind because of my curiosity. He has the talent to confuse people with his clever words.

“I see. If it’s going to be that wrong, I guess it’s better not to listen.”

“Yes.”

“If you do your best in a situation where you don’t know what will happen, you’ll have fewer regrets later.”

“It is a wise decision.”

He started talking nonsense but couldn’t find the original topic. Dalcheon changed the subject.

“Have you heard of that organization called Il-dae-gye?”

“This is the first time I’ve heard that.”

“Then you have never heard of the head of that organization, Yoo Ui, or rather, Yeo Ui?”

“I know there is someone controlling things behind the scenes. His name is Yui.”

“I think it will work out as planned.”

“Does that mean I can do whatever I want?”

“I think so.”

“… … .”

“I think this will end if we catch that one person named Yeo-ui of Il-dae-gye.”

They say that the most efficient time for thinking is when you are rocking back and forth on a horse. They also say that it is the same when you are sitting on the sidewalk, and when you are about to go to bed. It was busy, but once I got on the road, my thoughts started to turn around quickly.

“That makes sense. To be honest, the Crown Prince is not a very cunning person. Rather, he is a bit lacking. In order to hide that, he drastically reduces his external activities. That is why he rarely meets people. There are hardly any people who have been to the Crown Prince’s Palace.

Assassinations and plots are rampant, but I don’t think you would have done that. I guess there must have been someone trying to gain something by putting you on the throne.

Even if there was someone else behind the scenes, I thought it would be the Queen Mother. After all, they were on the same side… … . But I started to think that even the Queen Mother was someone’s puppet. It was one of the many reasons that led to the death of the Queen Mother, but it wasn’t very planned. She doesn’t have the talent to plan things out.”

The prince muttered, not realizing that he was repeating the same thing.

“Many officials are working hard to put the Crown Prince on the throne. It is not the work of the two people I mentioned earlier. I thought it was the Left Minister. However, since the Left Minister is still active, even after being exiled, I cannot help but think that there is another person behind it.”

“… … .”

“No one can guess. It’s more efficient to put something on the table and review it than to think about it vaguely.”

“… … .”

“I would have searched among the ministers and relatives, but no one in particular comes to mind.”

“Are you not His Majesty?”

The prince flinched at Dalcheon’s question.

“Seeing that things are never ending, I have wondered if Your Majesty’s intentions are the same. However, Your Majesty will gain nothing by killing me. Your Majesty has enjoyed making his two sons compete with each other.”

“Your expression is very explicit.”

“It’s really obvious what power is all about.”

“… … .”

“People like Seo Jae-cheol and Na Yong-bin, the chief of the Geumbu branch, are not people who should be under anyone. However, if you try to control them, it will be really difficult. No one comes to mind.”

Dalcheon changed the subject.

“Il-dae (一大) is the character for breaking (破字). It means a contract between heaven and earth.”

“No, how dare these guys!”

When he said that the word “heaven” was used as a synonym for “one great”, the great general trembled.

* * *

Things have become difficult. You can just strike down the enemy that is revealed, but you can’t do anything about the enemy that is not revealed. Who is it that puts a fool on the throne and then tries to manipulate him as they please?

I realized the difficulty of the situation too late. Is it fortunate that I realized it now? No, even if I destroy the crown prince tonight and take the throne, the great undertaking will not be completed as long as he is here.

“What should I do?”

Dalcheon answered without thinking much.

“I thought you had thought about it in advance.”

“If we don’t catch him, all this effort will be in vain.”

“Well then, I have to catch it.”

“I don’t even know who it is. I can’t even guess.”

“Think about it now. Who that bastard is.”

“I never thought of that.”

“The past is already gone. Now, racking my brain… … Ahem, I know nothing about the royal family and the palace. Think about it carefully.”

Something big fell on his instep, but Dalcheon didn’t seem nervous at all. The answer itself seemed a little irresponsible. Isn’t it something that anyone can say to you to think carefully?

“I’m not sure. How can I think of him while I’m moving?”

“Then, if you sit quietly in a corner of the room and think deeply, will it come out?”

“That’s not it, but… … .”

“The work has begun. The first thing to do is to get rid of the guys belonging to the Il-dae-gye. Of course, we can assume that people like the Chief of the Royal Secretariat Seo Jae-cheol and the Royal Secretariat Na Yong-bin are his subordinates.”

“He said he showed up to internal meetings wearing a mask.”

“Don’t you know that? Everyone who should know might know. The second one.”

“There must be another way.”

“Your Majesty tried very hard to make me his man. I thought it was too greedy for someone of his age, but now that I look back, I think it may have been a situation that threatened your Majesty. I think your Majesty may have felt threatened by Yeo-ui and sought me out.”

“Oh! Your Majesty, you know this, right?”